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Will you think less of me? (3 Cent Nickels)

TommyTypeTommyType Posts: 4,586 ✭✭✭✭✭

Will you think less of me? Will my manhood be questioned? Will you cross to the other side of the street and avert your eyes as I approach??

My issue:
I’m thinking of just punting, and completing my 3-Cent Nickel set with 1884 and 1885 proof issues instead of the “proper” circulation strikes. As most are aware, the proofs are actually cheaper....much cheaper...than the circulation coins (if you can even find them).

Tale of the Tape, (prices are PCGS price guide):
F-15 1884, (Lowest PCGS graded, Pop 1): $1250 vs. Proof-63 1884 (PCGS Pop 128): $315
VF-20 1885, (Lowest PCGS graded, Pop 2): $2300 vs. Proof-63 1885 (PCGS Pop 148): $315

(Price guide oddity: PCGS reports values of the circulation strike coins down to G-4. They just don’t actually EXIST in PCGS holders. ;) )

The “purity” of my set would dictate that I get the circulation strikes. But the alternate means that instead of extremely expensive, hard or impossible to find, possibly ugly as sin coins, I can carefully select some fairly good looking coins. I can even stretch a little for PF-64 or even PF-65 coins, and not break the bank!

Anyone else ever forced to contemplate an option such as this? I know there are a few other select areas where the proofs are cheaper than the circulation coins.

I have some time to ponder, I guess. Still need the 1873 open 3, 1879, and 1880 before I HAVE to pursue the 1884 and 1885....

(Or, I can sell the set, and start a set of AU Susan B. Anthony dollars....whatever. Cheap Bastard. ;)).

Easily distracted Type Collector

Comments

  • DIMEMANDIMEMAN Posts: 22,403 ✭✭✭✭✭

    I didn't know you could use proof issues in a circ set. Do what you want to do on this.

    But whatever you do....DON'T sell and do a SBA set! Pick Liberty or Shield Nickels or something.

  • TommyTypeTommyType Posts: 4,586 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @DIMEMAN said:
    I didn't know you could use proof issues in a circ set. Do what you want to do on this.

    But whatever you do....DON'T sell and do a SBA set! Pick Liberty or Shield Nickels or something.

    Technically, you are right. You CAN'T very well do a circ set with proof coins. Therein lies my issue. Do it "right", and expensive beyond what I may even be willing to complete.....or do it cheap and wrong.

    (Then there's the question of whether the 3 or 4 "proof only" years are now required....and why that is/isn't "proper". And if you do the proof only years, why not proofs for the other years....and if you now have the proofs from all years, why don't you have the circulation strikes from all years.....and I'm back where I started. ;) )

    (I already have a pocket change SBA set in the works. At $1 per coin, I'm well within my budget). :smiley:

    Really just wondering if anyone else has "cheated" this way. I can't be alone!

    Easily distracted Type Collector
  • jdimmickjdimmick Posts: 9,583 ✭✭✭✭✭

    About 6 months ago, I had a guy come in with a handful of 3 cent nickels, and there was an 1884 business strike in the bunch. Sold it to a national dealer for 2300

  • DIMEMANDIMEMAN Posts: 22,403 ✭✭✭✭✭

    I assumed you were talking about the PCGS Registry sets.....that's why I replied the way I did. ;)

    I wouldn't waste my time on a SBA set in any grade.

  • amwldcoinamwldcoin Posts: 11,269 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Dumb ass here sold an AU Business strike to a forum member here a few years ago for $650....It was a package deal with a bunch of other coins and I didn't expect him to pick apart the deal. Needless to say we have not done any more business!

  • LakesammmanLakesammman Posts: 17,282 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Dumb ass here sold an AU Business strike to a forum member here a few years ago for $650....It was a package deal with a bunch of other coins and I didn't expect him to pick apart the deal. Needless to say we have not done any more business!

    Doesn't that only happen if you allow it to happen??

    "My friends who see my collection sometimes ask what something costs. I tell them and they are in awe at my stupidity." (Baccaruda, 12/03).I find it hard to believe that he (Trump) rushed to some hotel to meet girls of loose morals, although ours are undoubtedly the best in the world. (Putin 1/17) Gone but not forgotten. IGWT, Speedy, Bear, BigE, HokieFore, John Burns, Russ, TahoeDale, Dahlonega, Astrorat, Stewart Blay, Oldhoopster, Broadstruck, Ricko.
  • mannie graymannie gray Posts: 7,259 ✭✭✭✭✭

    If I were you I would save myself the aggravation and just get the proofs.
    If you happen to come across the business strikes, and you can swing it, then you can buy them.
    That's what I would do.
    It's your collection---don't let others make you feel the need to conform.
    Coins are too much fun to stress over.

  • skier07skier07 Posts: 3,649 ✭✭✭✭✭

    I'm half jesting. Buy the proofs, crack them out, make them pocket change, be careful not to spend them, then submit to PCGS. They're real good if they can tell the difference between a worn proof and circulated 3CN.

  • BillJonesBillJones Posts: 33,427 ✭✭✭✭✭

    I would have no problem with someone using a Proofs to fill those holes. Only the purists get upset. There was an other thread here that said the 1877 Indian Cent Proofs were totally out of favor. I won't worry about what others think. If it makes you happy, just do it!

    Retired dealer and avid collector of U.S. type coins, 19th century presidential campaign medalets and selected medals. In recent years I have been working on a set of British coins - at least one coin from each king or queen who issued pieces that are collectible. I am also collecting at least one coin for each Roman emperor from Julius Caesar to ... ?
  • AmazonXAmazonX Posts: 680 ✭✭✭✭

    The “purity” of my set would dictate that I get the circulation strikes.

    Well, you can always justify that a circulated proof can fit in your set because more people thought it was a circulation strike than a proof. :) Do whatever makes you happy. You can always buy the proofs and then upgrade to a circulated MS when you find one.

    I agree with @dimeman. Go for the shield nickels. It's a VERY fun series.

  • earlycoinsearlycoins Posts: 282 ✭✭✭

    Save up, and wait for nice circs. 40-55?

  • ambro51ambro51 Posts: 13,580 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Continue the hunt for pleasing business strikes. They are what will create the "set", and you realize that of course. This is why many collectors buy the keys first. Your dilemma is Exactly what collectors 100 years from now will face with clad issues. Abundant proof sets/coins cheaply had but MS business strikes..not so much

  • thebeavthebeav Posts: 3,744 ✭✭✭✭✭

    If you can plug those holes for hundreds of dollars, I might be tempted to do that. You can always blow the proof off when you find a business strike to replace it.

  • BillJonesBillJones Posts: 33,427 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @earlycoins said:
    Save up, and wait for nice circs. 40-55?

    Yes, if it is ever offered. And once it is offered, are you ready to pay a record price for mediocre materail? That's what I'm finding now. If I could fill the hole with a Proof for less or reasonable money, I'd do it.

    Retired dealer and avid collector of U.S. type coins, 19th century presidential campaign medalets and selected medals. In recent years I have been working on a set of British coins - at least one coin from each king or queen who issued pieces that are collectible. I am also collecting at least one coin for each Roman emperor from Julius Caesar to ... ?
  • oih82w8oih82w8 Posts: 11,867 ✭✭✭✭✭

    How about some impaired proofs? Use 'em as pocket pieces for a spell? I believe that circulated proofs are allowed in registry sets.

    oih82w8 = Oh I Hate To Wait _defectus patientia_aka...Dr. Defecto - Curator of RMO's

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  • DIMEMANDIMEMAN Posts: 22,403 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @skier07 said:
    I'm half jesting. Buy the proofs, crack them out, make them pocket change, be careful not to spend them, then submit to PCGS. They're real good if they can tell the difference between a worn proof and circulated 3CN.

    They can tell the difference...besides that is all wrong in so many ways.

  • pmacpmac Posts: 3,189 ✭✭✭

    What are you going to do with the collection when you are done? If it irritates you to have the holes, get the proofs and then wait for the circulation strikes. Overall, I'm not sure how much a completed set with proofs is valued vs. the incomplete set with the two proofs sold separately. If you want to move on, sell them as is and choose another collection to acquire.

    Paul
  • ambro51ambro51 Posts: 13,580 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Hahaha. He'd spend them as a dime in two days! I once got an 1865 3C as a dime while working as a toll collector !

  • Insider2Insider2 Posts: 14,452 ✭✭✭✭✭

    In the end, it is up to you; however, I think your complete set will be worth more money and easier to sell if you take the longer course and finish it with circs.

  • KoveKove Posts: 2,025 ✭✭✭✭

    It all depends on your personality. Are you a "good enough" type or a "gotta get it right" type? Since you're asking the question, I suspect you want to get it right.

    A few years ago, I had a somewhat related dilemma with a set I was 3 coins away from completing. Other collectors were bidding stupid money on the 3 coins I needed to finish the set the correct way. I took a shortcut on the last three coins, "completed" the set, sold all but the best couple of coins, and moved on. In the time since, I have seen examples of the right coins I needed come up for sale, and I feel a little regret when I see them.

    It isn't a huge deal, but I don't have the full inner satisfaction that comes with truly completing a difficult set. For many people, that doesn't matter, but every once in a while I'm reminded of it and I wish I had a little more patience.

  • ashelandasheland Posts: 22,612 ✭✭✭✭✭

    I would bite the bullet and get the proper business strikes.

  • TommyTypeTommyType Posts: 4,586 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Thanks for all of the comments to my silly, whiney post. ;)

    In the end, the right answer I guess is, "Hey, do what you want. It's your set." That's ALWAYS the right answer, isn't it?

    Since I've been working the set for over 15 years, there really isn't any pressing need to jump at a solution RIGHT NOW.

    But in the back of my head, I know that if I ever have $2k burning a hole in my pocket, I'm much more likely to buy a AG-VG flowing hair Bust Dollar, Half, Dime, or Half-Dime, than an 1885 3-Cent Nickel. My desire to finish, (whatever "finish" means), my Type Set far outweighs my desire to finish the 3-Cent Nickels. Which probably means I'll never REALLY finish the 3-Cent Nickels. And that would be OK. My sets, my priorities, my problem.

    I still like the quirky little things....even incomplete. :smiley:

    Easily distracted Type Collector
  • Insider2Insider2 Posts: 14,452 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Easy for me to say...sell the nickels as is when they get popular and work on the type set.

  • rickoricko Posts: 98,724 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited August 2, 2017 7:45AM

    Your collection, your set.... do what pleases you.... You really do not need permission or approval from anyone else...... as the song says... Don't worry.... Be happy ;) Cheers, RickO

  • roadrunnerroadrunner Posts: 28,303 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited August 2, 2017 8:28AM

    Seems to me the "set" are those 2 coins and couple others in circ....and a very disproportionate amount. I'd just rather have some decent looking AU/61/62 proofs of the 1884/1885 and call it a day. It's not like the prices of the circs are going to the moon....though it seems they are already there...lol.

    I've seen many seated half dime and dime sets with proof examples of the low mintage 1864, 65, 66, and 67 dates. Some of the biggest collections of all time stuck those proofs in their sets. They are nicer looking coins to boot. Seems crazy to me that a nice proof is only $300-$400 and a business strike in F-XF is $thousands. I would never buy the business strike unless it was a finest known type of set requiring MS66's to -68's. A "set" where a couple coins are THE set has never appealed to me. I'd focus on everything "but" the business strike 1884/85. One has to wonder how many of these were hoarded from the 1970's to 2000's and are just waiting to be "discovered?"

    Barbarous Relic No More, LSCC -GoldSeek--shadow stats--SafeHaven--321gold

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